Cheap beer makes Angels among best deals in the majors, analysis says

April 25, 2013

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Mark and Lynne Unfried said that beer prices are comparable at all the ballparks. "We can't afford to buy six of them, but we can buy a couple," Mark Unfried said. ROSE PALMISANO, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Angels Stadium has some of the cheapest ballpark beer in the major leagues. ROSE PALMISANO, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Mike Moriarty and his daughter, Riley, mingle while they enjoy their brew at Angel Stadium before the game between the Angels and the Texas Rangers. "We're very happy! It's good beer, and the atmosphere is great," they said. ROSE PALMISANO, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Mike Moriarty and his daughter, Riley, mingle while they enjoy their brew at Angel Stadium before the game between the Angels and the Texas Rangers. "We're very happy! It's good beer, and the atmosphere is great," they said. ROSE PALMISANO, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Gary Holcombe said, "I'm having a great time, and I'll be having a better time if the Angels win." ROSE PALMISANO, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The Angels have some of the cheapest ballpark beer in the major leagues. ROSE PALMISANO, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Friends Lucia Horta, left, Mat Staudinger and Brian King said, "Beer is cheaper at Angels Stadium than it is at Disneyland." ROSE PALMISANO, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Mark and Lynne Unfried said that beer prices are comparable at all the ballparks. "We can't afford to buy six of them, but we can buy a couple," Mark Unfried said.ROSE PALMISANO, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

When you go out to the ball game in Southern California, chances are you'll be able to afford more than peanuts and Cracker Jacks.

The Angels and the Dodgers offer two of the best deals in the major leagues, featuring big-payroll players without gouging the fans' wallets, according to an analysis by the website BuzzFeed. The site compared the level of talent with the cost to fans and found that the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Dodgers and the Angels provide the best value. The Dodgers were lauded for affordable ticket prices, the Angels for cheap beer.

"I think it's good, if it can get the fans here and keep them coming back," said Brian King, 27, of Rancho Santa Margarita, sipping a beer before Wednesday night's Angels home game against the Texas Rangers.

When Arte Moreno bought the Angels a decade ago, he promised to drop beer prices. At $4.50 for 14 ounces, it's still among the best buy in the majors, says the Brookstone Beer Price Report. Beer averages 32 cents per ounce at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Only the Arizona Diamondbacks are cheaper at 29 cents an ounce.

Beer at an Angels' game is well below the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals, where it will cost upwards of 60 cents an ounce for a cold one.

"I think it's a really good value, because the Angels always put on a great spectacle," said Rob Cornell, 59, of Rancho Santa Margarita.

Don't have anything to compare it to? Ask a Canadian.

"I love it," said Rob Guthier of New Brunswick, Canada, attending Wednesday's game with Cornell. "For one, we don't have big-league baseball where I'm from. But the tickets were $47, and in Canada, when I go to a hockey game, I expect to pay $150. So it really is a good value."

Some local fans see ways to improve, however.

"I think they could have a lot more selection of food," said Miley Nathanson, 34, of Orange.

Don McIntyre, 71, has been to just about every major league ballpark in the country.

"I've been to all of them except Cincinnati and Cleveland, and the prices here compare very well to the other parks" said McIntrye, who traveled with his son and a friend from Lompoc, north of Santa Barbara.

The $4.50 for beers at Angels' games will buy the smallest cup of domestic brew. Fans can spend $7.75, or $9 for larger drinks and $10 to $12 for a premium craft beers. But even that compares well to the $6 to $10 patrons will spend at the Catch, a nearby sports bar on Katella Avenue.

So go ahead: have that second beer. You can afford it. And with the way the Angels have been playing this April, you may need it.

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